Pyroblast
by AuthorGenesis
Summary: Twilight feels sympathy for the Changeling plight and chooses a long, hard journey for good Equestrian-Changeling relations.


Chrysalis watched with interest as she watched her ally Twilight Sparkle siphon the mana portions that a Changeling could create and feeding it into a rapidly swirling magic sphere with orange, reds, and yellow hues.

Once each Changeling couldn't give any more mana, a pair of worker 'lings would lift them to the side to rest and recover. Twilight continued forming this magical sphere growing it and growing it until it was the size of a large stallion, such as Big Mac and Shining Armor.

"Twilight? How is it that there are no Royal Guards attacking us? I mean, it's pretty hard to miss a patrol of changelings out here just off the main trading route," inquired Queen Chrysalis.

"What? Oh! That's easy! I just simply used an enviro-meld illusion spell and combined it with a perception aversion spell. As long as they don't bump into any'ling under the combined spells, then they're essentially rendered invisible to the pony eye," Twilight explained, vastly simplifying the more complex and technical parts so that Chrysalis could understand. It wasn't that she thought Chrysalis was stupid, by no means. But the time that she spent with her friends taught her that not everyone could understand the same complex ideas and verbose vocabulary as she did.

"Another question then. Why haven't any of the wagons and caravans detected what you're doing on the road?" Chrysalis asked Twilight.

"Because I'm using the same spell as I am on the 'ling patrol," Twilight explained succinctly.

"Okay, then why hasn't anypony felt anything or raised an alarm when passing through it? For that matter, why hasn't anypony been blasted yet?" Chrysalis asked, still gazing in wonderment at the complexity of Twilight's magical spellweaving.

"Well, because I've disguised the magical frequencies to match that of a natural mana node. As for why it doesn't go off, it's because I haven't yet woven in the magical targeting algorithm. No target set, it's not armed, and if it's not armed, then it doesn't have any reason to trigger the explosion," Twilight explained.

"I don't understand you, Twilight. Why would you help us Changelings after the attack on Canterlot Castle during your brother's wedding day?" The Changeling queen asked and raised a brow as she continued to watch Twilight at work.

"I was upset, really upset. I wondered why you would attack the castle with such numbers, with such swiftness and then bind or place in pods the captured ponies. It got me to asking myself why you would chose to reveal the Changeling race when before we hadn't even known what a Changeling was, or even what one might look like! Why come out of the shadows in which you remained hidden? I would find myself asking questions like these quite often over the next several days. Then, while I read a book about domestic and foreign military tactics, then I started having a thought. I thought to myself, 'Twilight, what if this was a supply/ demand problem for the Changelings? What if they only attacked because their demand was greater than their current supply? As a ruler of a kingdom, would their attack on Canterlot make sense as a desperation tactic? A sort of gambol on the success of the offensive operation, and thereby claiming spoils of war to help a hungry nation? So, while I disagreed with your execution, I am not unsympathetic to the plight of you and your 'lings," Twilight expounded to Chrysalis.

"Okay, that still doesn't answer why you would abandon your subjects to aid the Changeling cause. Nor of why you would even bother to find me," Chrysalis asked Twilight.

"I don't exactly see what I'm doing as a betrayal or abandonment of my subject or my kingdom, but rather that I'm a pioneer in favor of establishing healthy Equestrian-Changeling relations and alliances. As for finding you? That was sheer dumb luck," Twilight explained as she continued to siphon one of the last six 'lings for their mana to feed into her spell.

"Explain," Chrysalis requested.

"Well, after the majority of the changelings were ejected from Canterlot, the Royal Guards captured some Changelings that hadn't gotten blasted away. They were taken as prisoners of war and then Celestia, Luna and I studied Changeling physiology and their arcane matrices in order to try to discover a way to 'decloak' them, without them being aware of their having been discovered. I have to say that many of your soldiers held out, even unto death. You should be proud of how loyal they were to you and their fellow 'lings. Still, hunger can break even the mightiest warrior, so we had enough Changelings who showed us their bio-arcane disguising methods. Also, we discovered that a Changeling's body temperature is not the same as ponies, so really it was far easier to repurpose a thermal vision spell for catching disguised changelings. I merely had mine active to determine how many changelings there might remain in Canterlot. So, I had it active when I encountered you. So, from your size and your temperature matching mostly with that of a Changeling, then while my encountering you was mere chance, I knew with a lot of confidence that you were likely Chrysalis in disguise," Twilight continued her verbose and informative explanation to her ally.

She had just finished siphoning the last 'ling and proceeded to weave the targeting spells as well as the activation spells along with some guidance spells and an anchoring spell. "Alright, every'ling, retreat into the forest line!" Twilight commanded.

The Changelings looked to their queen, getting a nod of confirmation, and so every'ling retreated into the forest, the bushes and shrubs hiding them from plain sight.

"Still, doesn't this kind of tactic go against your attempt to establish peaceful Equestrian-Changeling relations and alliances?" Chrysalis asked.

"As much as I'd like to jump straight to peaceful negotiations, do you really think that the ruling Sisters of Equestria will really welcome you back to Canterlot with open hooves after an attack by you and your 'lings against them and their subjects?" Twilight asked.

"... Most likely not," Chrysalis admitted.

"That's why, this time we focus on attacking their supply routes and caravans. Then there will be less goods and distribution, eventually leading to a similar state of deprivation and starvation that the Changelings faced. Then as they weaken, they may be more sympathetic to your plight and be more willing to establish a truce or alliance between the Equestrian nation and the Changeling one," Twilight reasoned.

"So how does this spell of yours work?" Chrysalis interpreted for one of the 'lings who asked Twilight.

"Just watch, here comes a caravan now. Be prepared to loot and plunder every'ling!" Twilight responded.

Once the leading wagons of the caravan was dead center, there was a wagon sized explosion of fire. The cloaked spell moved to the next cart setting off another explosion and it continued until the end of the wagons in this caravan. It looked like a fiery serpent from a distance. There could be smelt the disgusting odor of ponies being burned alive, others screaming in pain, their coat and hide seared with severe burns. Others were running to and fro trying to extinguish the burning wagons.

"Go, go, go, go! Leave none alive!" Twilight shouted as Changelings burst out from the forest, like a raiding band of brigands. They transformed into unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies. Pegasi fought with Changeling pegasi ponies. Unicorns fought against Changeling unicorns. And earth ponies fought against Changeling earth ponies. While all this was happening Twilight was casting a Deluge spell to extinguish the fires of the caravan, so that no all of the supplies would be lost.

Chrysalis had been helping to defeat the unicorns, and then the earth ponies. Once they had been slain, then all of the remaining ground-bound Changelings shed their disguises and helped slay the remaining pegasi.

"Right! Let's unload the wagons, see if there is anything salvageable. We take it if it is, or we'll burn it with the wagons if it isn't," Twilight instructed, a hoof gingerly touching her over-worked horn and wincing from the aching throb it gave.

The Changelings went to work with a will, as they salvaged what could be salvaged, or they moved the stuff that couldn't be salvaged into a pile, the charred remains of the wagons encircling the pile.

Many of the Changelings conversed animatedly with their fellow lings' in their unique inequine tongue, filled with hope and the rush of being victorious.

The Changeling Queen looked over to the slumbering form of Twilight, carrying her to their camp in the woods, and using the hivemind to instruct her 'lings to carry the loot to the camp and that several should light the pile of the unsalvageable goods and wagons on fire until there was nothing but ash.

"I don't understand you, Twilight Sparkle, but thank you for giving me and my children a second chance."

The Changeling queen felt something within her carapace. It was a warm and happy feeling. It surprised her, because surely Changelings couldn't generate emotions … . Could they?


End file.
